Obviously Web browsing and email is done online, as is Internet chatting and even storing your digital photos.

Google includes 100 gigabytes of online storage for two years.

You are limited with what tasks you can do when you’re not online.

Google Docs has a pretty decent presence offline, which means you can create and edit documents that will sync the next time you connect to the Internet.

The OS also supports multiple users, so you can let your kids or a houseguest borrow it and know that if they log in with their own Google account, your documents and media are safe from snooping or accidental deletion.

So you need to be clear about what you want to accomplish with the Chromebook and if you’ll be able to be online when you need to do anything but write or edit Office documents.

Hardware

The Chromebook is a nice piece of hardware. Samsung has done a great job of making a quality netbook while keeping the cost down. At $250, the Chromebook is a perfect second computer.

From across a room, it would be easy to mistake the Chromebook for a Macbook Air.

Instead of the aluminum found on the Macbook Air, the Chromebook is plastic, but it feels very solid. The keyboard is Macbook-like with black keys protruding from a flat surface.

The trackpad is large, and the entire surface is a button if you press down.

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